Bell-chime for clocks and other devices.



N6. 879,170. PATEN'IED FEB. 18, 1908. w. H. HOSGHKE. BELL OHIMB FORCLOCKS AND OTHER DEVICES.

APPLIUATION FILED APR-16.1907

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PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908.

w. HOSOHKE. BELL GHIME FOR CLOCKS-AND OTHER DEVIO APPLICATION FILEDAPR.](:, 1907.

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THE mamas PETERS PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908. W. H. HOSGHKE. BELL GHIME FOROLOOKS AND OTHER DEVIO APPLICATION FILED APR.16,1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

WILLIAM H. HOSOHKE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO SONORA OHIME 00., OFNEW YORK,

N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1908.

Application filed April 16- 1907. Serial No. 368.562.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. HoscHKE,

a citizen of the United States, residing in New York, in the borough ofBrooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bell-Chimes for Clocks and other Devices,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved bellchime for use in clocks andfor other purposes.

The beautiful, rich tones which a bell used in connection with aresonator is capable of emitting cannot be brought out to advantage ifthe resonator is unduly limited in width. However, when a requisitenumber of resonators of the required width are placed alongside of eachother the chime takes up a large space, and where the chime is used forclocks or in other locations where the space is limited resonators ofthe proper sizes cannot be arranged in this way. On the other hand, ifthe bells and their corresponding resonators are arranged in difierentrows, to enable resonators of the required width to be employed in aclock-case or other relatively narrow space, the height of the chimemech anism is correspondingly increased and the construction of thestriking and driving mechanism is greatly complicated. A still graverobjection to this arrangement is that the then radiated striking devicessend the tones in difierent directions against different portions of theclock-case to find their way out through panels as best they can, andsuch tones, if they come out audibly at all, reach the ear in a more orless indistinct fashion.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioneddefects and to provide a construction in which resonators of therequired width are arranged in such a manner with respect to the bellsthat great economy of space is produced. To this end the bells arearranged in one row, while their resonators radiate therefrom atopposite sides, so that such resonators can be given a greater widththan that taken up by the bells to which they belong. In this manner therequisite number of bells may be placed into a clock-case of ordinarysize and the actuating mechanism retains its simple construction as thestriking-hammers are all placed in one row. Further, by this arrangementthe sounds are sent out of the clock through one common opening cutopposite the bells, so that such sounds are not impeded by encounteringany wall or other obstruction.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of theresonators whereby the bells are placed in such a manner that theresonators opposite the same are not those which will bring out any ofthe overtones of the bells, which would impair the musical effect.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form ofresonator, of simple and cheap construction, and provided with meanswhereby the same may be attuned with its corresponding bell.

With these ends in view, the invention consists in a bell-chime whichcomprises the novel features of construction and combinations of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofmy improved bell-chime for clocks, Fig. 2 is a planview of Fig. 1, Figs.3 and 4 are vertical transverse sections on lines 3, 3, and 4, 4, Fig.2, Fig. 5 is a plan-view of the bell-chime, drawn on a larger scale andwith the striking devices removed, and Fig. 6 is a vertical transversesection on line 6, 6, Fig. 5.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thedifferent figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, a represents the case of my improvedbell-chime, which is preferably made of rectangular shape, and providedwith an open space a at the center and with blocks of wood or othersuitable material at both sides. In the open central space of the case ais arranged a longitudinal rod 1) on which are supported a number ofbells b in a row in such a manner that one hell projects partly into theadjacent bell, said bells being separated from each other by suitablewashers. Each bell is fixed in position on the rod 6.

Each resonator r is made out of a solid block, preferably of wood. Atthe side of the block adjacent the corresponding bell there is bored outa half circle and the size of this half circle does not vary for thedifl'erent tones to be produced. By cutting this half circle out of theblock a chamber TX adjacent the bell is formed. In each block there isalso bored out a resonator-chamber r which extends transversely of theblock and which does not extend completely through thelatter but only towithin a certain distance from the bottom or back of the same. Theseopenings or bores, which constitute the resonators proper, vary in sizeaccording to the tones which are to be produced. A channel or throat cis bored in each block longitudinally thereof and extends between thehalf circle previously mentioned which is adjacent the bell and theresonator. The sets .of resonators are then glued together, requiringbut one additional wall or partition which is placed over the firstresonator in order to form the front-wall 1 thereof. The backs of theother resonators form the fronts of the resonators at the rear of thesame, as shown in Fig. 5. By this arrangement the construction of thechime is considerably cheapened and the resonators have the importantadvantage that they do not leak, which commonly occurs in jointedresonators and renders them entirely useless. v

By using a longer or shorter channel or throat the same size ofresonator-chamber may be used for various tones, which is, for economyin space, vitally important in many cases. The bells and resonators areso grouped that no resonator is placed opposite a bell to any of theovertones of which it will correspond At the throat of eachresonatorasaw-cut orkerf d is made in the block, across'the same fromthe top downward to about the center of the throat, in which a plate dof metal or veneer is inserted and pushed in more or less so as toreduce the size of the opening in the throat, until the desired tone ofthe resonator is obtained. chamber TX of each resonator, which might betermed the inlet-chamber, has a number of purposes, all of which are ofthe utmost importance. It prevents interference of the tone of one bellwith the tones and vibrations of its neighboring bells where bells aregrouped closely together. It gathers the vibrations of the bell andleads them into the channel or throat c from which they pass into theresonator-chamber, and in this way the musical result is stronger andmore distinct. Said chamber also acts as a part of the resonator asregards the resulting pitch, that is, without it the innerresonatorchamber would haveto be larger, so that said inlet-chambersaves space. Said inletchamber also serves the very important functionof keeping the resonator in tune under altered conditions. A resonatorwhich is not constructed in this manner and is placed in a narrow space,as in a clock, will change its pitch and become useless, being thenlower in tone than its bell.

In making the resonator, it is of course endeavored to make it in tunewith its bell as closely as possible; but as this attuning depends upona number of conditions it is quite diflicult to bring it about withoutsubse quently changing the resonator. In case the resonator is too lowin tone and will not respond to the bell, the tone is made higher bydrilling a small hole in that wall of the resonator which is not to beplaced afterward near any other wall. In case the drilling of this holedoes not sufhciently raise the tone the size of the hole may beincreased or another hole drilled in the resonator until the resonatorresponds to the bell. In case the resonator is too high in tone, thethroat or channel 0 is partially obstructed in the manner hereinbeforedescribed.

Above the row of resonators is arranged a plurality of striking-hammersh, the shanks of which are applied to blocks h which are pivoted to acommon longitudinal rod, said blocks being provided at the upper endswith fingers which are engaged by the projecting teeth of anactuating-cylinder e, the shaft e of which is supported in bearings ofupright standards 6 attached to the base-block a. The faces of thehammers are provided with small blocks of felt with which they strike onthe bells, several hammers being arranged for those bells which are mostfrequently called into action so as to permit quick repetition of thesame tone. The hammers are connected below their pivot-rod with a heli-.

driven by means of one or more motorsprings which are inclosed insuitable cylinders f that are located on a shaft 8 and wound up fromtime to time by a hand-crank s that is applied to the end of the shaft.9. The spring-box is held in tension by means of a pawl-and-ratchetmechanism which is located on one of the supporting-standards 6 as shownclearly in Fig. 1. Motion is trans mitted from the cylindrical casing ofthe motor-spring to the shaft of the actuating-cylinder by means of agear-wheel transmission 9, which also drives by a small gear-wheel a flymechanism for regulating the speed of the actuating pin-cylinder.

A disk is on the shaft of the pin-cylinder is provided with a notchwhich is engaged by a pawl i that is applied to an elbow-lever i whichis fulcrumed to a stationary arm i supported on the upright standard,the outer end of said lever being connected by an eye '5 at its outerend with a weighted trip-rod i the upper eye-shaped end of which isconnected by a cord or metallic rod with the hour-striking device of theclock so that every hour the pawl is released by the dropping of thelever from the notched disk, and thereby the motor and the actuatingpincylinder are released for actuating the hammers and playing thechime. After the rotation of the actuating-cylinder the pawl drops againinto the notch of the disk so as to be ready for releasing the actuatingpincylinder for the playing of the chime at the striking of the neXthour, and so on.

On the intermediate disk is arranged a crank-pin m which engages aforked arm m that is keyed to the shaft of the pin-cylinder and by whichrotary motion is transmitted to the same. On the disk is is arranged afixed ratchet-wheel n and a raised snail n provided with steps whichserve to engage the end of the shaft of the pin-cylinder so as to impartto the same a lateral shifting motion in its bearings against thetension of a flat spring n which acts on the opposite end of the shaftof the pin-cylinder and holds the same against the face of the steps ofthe snail on the disk 7:, each step of the snail corresponding to anumber of pins on the pin-cylinder which, for each full rotation of thesame, play one of the tunes for which the chime is arranged.

The mechanism by which intermittent ro tary motion is imparted to thecylinder and the release mechanism for playing the different tunessuccessively are well known and form no part of the present invention,which relates entirely to the grouping of the bells and to thearrangement of the same in a row and to the grouping of the resonatorsat both sides of the bells.

The principal advantages of the improved bell-chime are that while theresonatorchambers are sufficiently wide, they are grouped in such amanner as to produce great economy of space, so that the chime may bereadily placed in the case of a mantel clock or in the lower part of ahall clock. A further advantage is that the sounds can pass freelywithout interference directly from the bells out of the case. Further,the confusion of individual tones emitted by the bells is entirelyobviated. Also the resonators are of simple and cheap construction andmay be readily and exactly attuned with their corresponding bells.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A bell-chime comprising a plurality of bells arranged in one row, andresonators for said bells arranged in rows adjacent the latter.

2. A bell-chime comprising a plurality of bells arranged in one row, andresonators, one for each bell, arranged in rows at opposite sides ofsaid row of bells.

3. A bell-chime for clocks, comprising a plurality of bells arranged ina row, resonators arranged alternately for every bell in groups atopposite sides of said row of bells, hammers for striking the bells, andmeans for actuating the hammers.

4. A bell-chime for clocks, comprising a plurality of bells arranged ina row, resonators for each bell grouped at opposite sides of the row ofbells, hammers for striking the bells, and means for actuating thestrikingh a-mm ers.

5. In a bell-chime for clocks, a plurality of bells, a rod forsupporting said bells in a row, a casing inclosing the bells and openabove the bells, and two groups of resonators in said casing at oppositesides of the row of bells, the resonators of each group correspondingalternately with the bells.

6. In a bell-chime for clocks, the combination of a casing having anupper longitudinal opening, a plurality of bells arranged in a rowwithin said casing and below said opening, and resonators in said casingand arranged in rows at opposite sides of the bells, said resonatorshaving inlet-chambers or mouths communicating directly with the openingof said casing.

7. In a bell-chime for clocks, the combination of a plurality of bellsarranged in a row, a rod passing through the bells for supporting thesame, a frame for supporting the rod and open at the middle portion, andtwo groups of resonators arranged adjacent to and at opposite sides ofthe bells, the resonators of one group corresponding with everyalternate bell and the resonators of the other group with the otherbells of the row.

8. In a bell-chime for clocks, a resonator having a resonator-chamberand a throat leading thereto, there being a kerf cut in said resonatorand communicating with said throat, and a plate in said kerf by whichsaid throat may be more or less obstructed.

9. In a bell-chime, a plurality of resonators consisting of blocks, eachhaving aresonator-chamber therein which is bored out of one face andextends to within a short dis tance of the opposite face or back of theblock, said resonators being so assembled that the back of one coversthe front of and incloses the adjacent resonator.

10. In a bell-chime, the combination of a plurality of bells arranged ina row, and resonators for said bells, each resonator being placedopposite a bell to any of the overtones of which it will not respond.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedmy name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IVILLIAM H. HOSCIIKE.

Witnesses:

PAUL GoEPnL, HENRY J. SUHRBIER.

